Capital Inflows and Asset Prices in South Africa

Evidence in the preceding chapters highlights the effectiveness of several channels in transmitting external growth shocks and financial shocks to impact the South African economy. This chapter analyses the effects of net capital flows following the episodes of increased global liquidity linked to unconventional monetary policy interventions. To what extent do capital inflows shocks impact asset prices, and what are the effects on domestic monetary policy and financial stability? What would have happened to South African macroeconomic variables in the absence of net capital inflow shocks? Is the role of capital inflows on import dynamics and on the relative asset prices values to their replacement cost in the residential sector well understood? We attempt to answer these questions.